Michael Jackson's Nude Boy Books: A Closer Look
April 4, 2020
During the 1993 raid, the books "Boys Will Be Boys", "In Search of Young Beauty" and "The Boy, A Photographic Essay" were seized, which the prosecution used in 2005 under evidence code 1108 ("Prior bad acts"), to demonstrate a propensity that Michael Jackson had a sexual interest in pre-teen boys. The books show photographs of children engaged in various activities clothed, semi-naked and fully naked, with some pictures graphically showing their buttocks and genitals.
From the search of defendant's bedroom in 1993, the following unnumbered items.
Book: "Boys Will Be Boys," containing photographs of boys under the age of 14; full frontal nudity. The book is personally inscribed by Michael Jackson.
Book: "In Search of Young Beauty," containing photographs of children, both boys and girls; some nude.
Book: "The Boy, A Photographic Essay"; containing black-and-white photos of boys, some nude;
Photograph: A photograph of a boy, believed to be Jonathan Spence; fully nude.
Photograph: A photograph of a young boy holding an umbrella; wearing bikini bottoms, partially pulled down.
Full document: drive.google.com
You can view selected samples from these books by clicking on the following links. Please note, some images are graphic.
The Boy, A Photographic Essay: (Link 1) and (Link 2).
Boys Will Be Boys: (Link 1) and (Link 2).
Court TV host Catherine Crier presented several images of "Boys Will Be Boys" to Frank Cascio and his lawyer Joe Tacopina during coverage of the 2005 trial. Frank looked visibly embarrassed by its content.
It's essential to note that while these books are not illegal, nor do they show children being physically abused, they can still be considered suggestive and potentially serve as a source of fantasy for individuals with paedophilic tendencies.
Professionals involved in the profiling and investigation of paedophiles, such as Ken Lanning, have classified this type of material as "Child Erotica." Additionally, individuals like Bill Dworin have highlighted that paedophiles often possess such material as it is legally obtainable, not illegal to possess, and can be utilized for sexual arousal.
In legal proceedings related to cases of sexual abuse, these materials may serve as crucial evidence despite not meeting the legal definition of child pornography. It is noteworthy that during discussions on April 29, 2005, the prosecution emphasized the significance of understanding and addressing this complex issue.
MR. ZONEN: If the Court would like, yes. Just briefly, Your Honor, the books that were seized in 1993 were seized at a time that was contemporaneous with the evidence presented pursuant to 1108. There were four young boys who were involved in Michael Jackson's life. It's interesting and unique that the maid who was called to open up this file cabinet was, in fact, the mother of one of those victims at that time.
Those books -- one of the books -- both of the books are pictorial essays of adolescent boys. One of them, about 10 percent of the photographs are completely nude boys. And the other one, 90 percent of the photographs are completely nude boys. The possession of those books by Mr. Jackson, we believe, is evidence of a prurient interest in adolescent boys and it's exactly contemporaneous with the state of the evidence as to all of the 1108 witnesses. Therefore, we believe it adequately corroborates within the meaning of People vs. Memro. We'd ask that it be admitted.
These books were not found in a large pile of fan sent items, or randomly discarded in one of the many buildings at Neverland, but inside a locked cabinet inside Jackson's master bedroom. This was confirmed in the testimony of LAPD officer Rosibel Smith during the trial and also confirmed by Bill Dworin.
Q. BY MR. ZONEN: I'm going to show you three objects at this time. Exhibits No. 841 and 842; would you take a look at those two objects, please?
A. Okay.
Q. Do you recognize those two books?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Did you seize those two books?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. From where?
A. These books were seized from a cabinet within Michael Jackson's closet in the master bedroom.
Q. All right. Describe his bedroom for us, please.
A. The bedroom is a very large --
MR. SANGER: Your Honor, I think it would be cumulative at this time, wouldn't it?
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q. BY MR. ZONEN: All right. Tell us where in his bedroom this particular closet is.
A. It was off to the side of the main bedroom.
There were -- actually, there were two closets on either side of the room, and this would have been the side where the Jacuzzi was located.
Q. Now, this is the first floor of his bedroom suite; is that right?
A. That's correct.
Q. Was there a bed in that bedroom suite?
A. Yes.
Q. I'm going to show you Exhibit No. 856.
A. Okay.
Q. Do you recognize that photograph?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. And that photograph is what?
A. This is a photograph that was taken during the search warrant of Neverland Ranch, and it depicts the file cabinet that the books were seized from.
Q. All right. And is that file cabinet depicted in that photograph?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. How many drawers in that file cabinet?
A. Four.
Q. In which drawer were those two books seized, from which drawer?
A. From the third drawer.
Q. Was that file cabinet locked?
A. Yes, it was.
Q. How were you able to unlock it?
A. We were able to get the key from -- the maid brought the key over to the home and we were able to unlock it at that time.
Q. Do you remember which maid that was?
A. I believe it was Blanca Francia.
Full document: drive.google.com
Bill Dworin, a retired Los Angeles Police Department detective who spent more than twenty-two years assigned to the Sexually Exploited Children Unit said the following in Michael Jackson’s Secret World documentary:
The individuals behind these disturbing publications are none other than known paedophiles Martin Swithinbank and Ronald Drew, under the pseudonyms Georges St. Martin and Ronald C. Nelson.
Martin Swithinbank, a former NAMBLA member, has a deeply troubling history that includes imprisonment for the despicable act of sodomizing young children. Following his release, he was rightfully deported, highlighting the severity of his reprehensible actions. Co-author Ronald Drew's involvement is equally alarming, having been dismissed from his teaching position due to the horrifying misconduct of sexually abusing a student.
What makes the situation even more abhorrent is the involvement of self-described paedophiles such as Hajo Ortil, Karel Egermeier, Jos Le Doare, and Jacques Simonot, among others, who shamelessly contributed photographs for these books. The extent of their involvement underscores the calculated and insidious nature of the publications, designed to cater to a similar deviant audience.
Further compounding the disturbing nature of this revelation is the interview given by one of the photographers, Hajo Ortil, to a website that shamelessly advocates for relationships between children and adults. In this interview, Ortil callously detailed his abhorrent experiences of engaging in sexual relationships with children and proudly disclosed his collaboration with Swithinbank for both books.
PAN: That joy comes through so strongly in your photos. All of us can remember when those first big books came out, The Boy and Boys Will Be Boys.
ORTIL: I was chief contributor That was with Mr. Swithinbank in New York. These two books, that's the merit of him. But he never paid, and then the police searched his home and took away everything.
Source: greek-love.com
Another contributor, D.W. Nichols (a self-described boy lover) also talked about the creation of the books in a 1977 interview with the Midwest Gay Academic Journal (Volume 1, Issues 1-3). He also makes the clarification that the publishers (Book explorers inc.) were famous at the time for distributing material for boy lovers.
TSAG: I’m in Lansing, Michigan, with D.W. Nichols, author of Toward A Perspective for Boy-Lovers (1976), as well as a number of articles that have appeared in Better Life Monthly and a boy-star review column that was featured regularly in Hermes. How did you become interested in boy-love?
NICHOLS: I became interested in it because I’m a boy-lover myself, obviously. From 1967 through 1970, I was with Book Explorers, Inc., in New York City, and its offspring enterprises, and these companies were publishers of boy-love material. Naturally, many BLs [Boy-lovers] would write us or come into the office and discuss their problems and interests; sometimes they would bring their boyfriends along. I thus met numerous people with this particular interest and so became more knowledgeable about the subject than I otherwise would have.
(...)
T: Did Book Explorers go defunct?
N: Yes, it was for financial reasons that it went under. There just weren’t enough BLs to support the high quality publishing projects we were involved in. I don’t know if you are familiar with any of the books we did.
T: Yes, Boys Will Be Boys.
N: Yes, and The Boy: A Photographic Essay, and Boyhood Magazine. Technically speaking, the two books were published by Book Adventures, which is the enterprise Book Explorers evolved out of. As a project of one of the offspring companies, we also published a book on boy prostitution entitled Boys for Sale, which in fact was co-authored by Rossman, then using the pen-name, Jonathan Drake. (Rossman’s contribution was largely in supplying the information for the book.) Anyway, as you probably know, Robin Lloyd has relied on this work in his own book (For Money or Love, 1976).
Source: spotlightonabuse.wordpress.com
A newsletter released by NAMBLA specifically references the books in a comparative analysis with the publication "Made in the USA." The newsletter provides a recommendation as legitimate material that can be acquired by members of the paedophile organization.
Those familiar with The Boy and Boys Will Be Boys, long out of print, will appreciate the appeal of this offering and the excellent value it represents."
Source: NAMBLA
It's natural that Jackson supporters would seek to diminish the explicit nature of these books, emphasizing their legal ownership status, which is indeed accurate. However, the details presented above unequivocally position these books outside the realm of typical household literature, aligning them with content specifically tailored to individuals with a sexual interest in children.
Reviews for these books are notably absent from reputable book websites, constrained to platforms catering exclusively to boy lovers. One such instance is a review featured in The International Journal of Greek Love, a transient publication advocating man-boy love and overseen by Walter Breen, who had been convicted of child molestation.
"The Boy: A Photographic Essay" is also featured on Boywiki, a website that advocates for man-boy relationships. According to the site, when the book was released, it garnered significant acclaim in the homophile press.
Supporters argue that the inclusion of the book "Boys will be Boys" in the Library of Congress in 1966 serves as a testament to its artistic worth. However, there was minimal legislation against the publication of nude images of children or child pornography in the United States before 1970. It's extremely unlikely that you'll find this book in any reputable library in the present day.
The defence contends that one of the books was a gift from a fan, a claim seemingly supported by an inscription on the front page of the book. It reads, “To Michael: From your fan, ‘RHonDA’ ♥ 1983, Chicago” (with "DA" in all caps and printed in bold). There has been speculation that "RHonDA" may be a pseudonym for one of the authors, namely "Ronald Drew." The rationale behind a fan gifting such a book to their idol raises questions, hinting at whether the fan believed Jackson would appreciate a collection featuring nude children. The origin of the other book remains unspecified.
A misconception suggests that Michael Jackson received countless items from fans without the opportunity to review them. However, this notion is contradicted by the testimony of Joseph Marcus, the property manager of Neverland for 17 years. He affirmed in 2005 that all gifts addressed to Jackson were meticulously screened, with only the "best things" chosen based on the staff's assessment of what would be suitable for Jackson.
Q. So the fan mail that’s delivered to Neverland Ranch is what I’m talking about --
A. Yes.
Q. -- where is that ultimately delivered?
A. It’s delivered to the Los Olivos post office and then delivered to the property.
Q. When it gets to the property, where does it go?
A. Sometimes it goes to Los Angeles, and sometimes some of the nicer stuff we might keep at the property.
Q. All right. Now, when you say “nicer stuff” -- before we get to the distinction, what volume of fan mail comes to the Los Olivos ranch?
A. Three boxes probably every other week.
Q. All right. And sometimes you’ll get big packages; is that right?
A. Correct.
Q. Sometimes people will send artwork?
A. Artwork. Books. Clothing. Ties. Coffee mugs. Gifts. Just lots -- lots of gifts.
Q. How about letters?
A. Letters. Lots of letters.
Q. Cards?
A. Cards, yes.
Q. Whose job is it to go through and screen that, if anybody?
A. We don’t really have somebody doing that at this point.
Q. In the past have you had somebody screen it or does it just all go to Mr. Jackson, and say, “Here. Read your mail”?
A. No.
Q. Does it end up sometimes in the administration building?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. And from there, you said something about “the nicer stuff.” So going back to that answer, how do you make the decision as to what ought to go to Mr. Jackson himself to look at?
A. Memorabilia. Just some of the nicer--nicer items that I think that he might be interested in seeing what the fans have sent for him.
In a 1995 interview with Diane Sawyer, Michael Jackson falsely claimed to be unaware of the existence of the books, denying having seen them, despite evidence of their presence in his room.
Moreover, an inscription inside the cover of "Boys will be Boys" reads, “Look at the true spirit of happiness and joy on the faces of these boys. This is the spirit of childhood, a life I never had and will always dream of. This is the life I want for my boys. MJ.” It's worth noting that similarities can be found between Jackson's way of speaking and the preface of the book written by the authors, particularly in the discussions about joy, the innocence of children, and the celebration of childhood.
In 2005, the defence acknowledged that Michael Jackson was indeed in possession of the books. However, they attempted to have the evidence disallowed, contending that the books were no longer pertinent to the ongoing case since they were seized in 1993 and had not been shown to any minors (Page 8167). If Michael Jackson genuinely believed that possessing these books was innocuous, his false statements on television would have been unnecessary.
The legal team representing Jackson was fully aware of the detrimental impact of this evidence. Sanger, one of his attorneys, presented the following argument:
MR. SANGER: Well, I think that is. I mean, I can't imagine what else it would be. That's what I'm saying. In other words, there's no evidence that these books, or any of the other books, the actual books that were seized, many of which, or all of which the Court has allowed from the 2003 time period, there's no evidence that they were shown to any of the people in this case. Not shown to minors. They weren't used for any purpose. They're just shown -- they're -- I'm sorry. They were offered to show that Mr. Jackson had these materials in his house. I think the Court's now heard all the testimony. I think it's very minimal weight even for the 2003 materials.
And so my concern is that while Memro might talk about allowing this kind of evidence to show that the -- that the individual had this evidence in his possession at the time of the offense, this isn't the time of the offense. This is ten years before. And it's locked in a file cabinet. So not only do you not have it being used for any untoward purpose, but it's simply possessed and it's possessed in a secure fashion, and it's possessed ten years before any events in this case.
However, the court dismissed his arguments and permitted their admission (p. 8168).
THE COURT: But the Memro case isn't about showing the material to anybody. It's about having the material and allowing it to be introduced as evidence that the defendant may have some proclivity to the type of sexually explicit material that we're dealing with. So it's not a question -- you know, one of the issues in this case presently is about whether he showed children that material. But another reason the material's admissible is that it relates to his state of mind. And that's why they're offering it, according to their proffer.
On January 18, 2005, the prosecution sought to introduce the 1993 investigative materials into evidence. However, the defence raised objections to this request. In addition, the defence aimed to summon librarian Mary Minow to evaluate MJ's book collection and provide testimony regarding its artistic value. Nevertheless, the prosecution contended that if Minow were to testify, former FBI Special Agent Ken Lanning, an expert in paedophile profiling, should also be allowed to give evidence. Ultimately, both parties reached an agreement to withdraw their respective witnesses.
On April 29, the judge permitted the inclusion of evidence from two books related to the Memro case, which addresses exceptions to the admissibility of character evidence for proving a defendant's intent and motive.
THE COURT: No, just a moment. I'm sorry, I want to interrupt you. I'm not sure that I made that finding on the record or at sidebar on Exhibits 841 or 842, both of them, but I previously had reviewed the books and made a finding, preliminary finding, that there were photographs within each book that could be determined to be sexually explicit photographs by a trier of fact, and then I made a finding on -- under 352, which I know is on the record. Now you may proceed with this witness. MR. ZONEN: Thank you, Your Honor.
During the trial, the jurors were only able to view partial contents of the books through a projector and were not permitted to physically handle the books themselves. In a cross-examination of Wade, Zonen presented the books to him, requesting descriptions of specific images and inquiring the propriety of an unrelated adult sharing a bed with a child while owning such material. Wade, despite feeling uncomfortable with the images, aligned with the defence's stance and deemed the books non-pornographic in nature.
Q. Is it true, Mr. Robson, that all of the pictures in that book are of boys about the same age?
A. Yes.
Q. 10, 11, 12 years old?
A. Yes.
Q. And that many of the photographs, if not most of the photographs, depicted in that book are of boys nude; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. And in fact, in most of those pictures, the genitalia is prominently displayed; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. Would you be concerned with a person who possesses a book like that?
A. No.
Q. Would you be concerned about having your 12-year-old child in bed with a person who possesses a book like that?
A. No.
Q. You would have no such concern?
A. No. It’s -- to me, it doesn’t -- it’s not a pornographic book. It’s sort of, you know -- I don’t know, just a book.
In a subsequent interview, Chief juror Paul Rodriguez disclosed that he opted not to examine the books during deliberation, explaining, "I didn't want to look at them; I didn't want it to influence my decision."
As these books were classified under evidence 1108, representing a propensity to commit a crime but not directly linked to the case (as they were seized 10 years prior to Gavin's abuse allegations), the jurors were instructed by the judge not to predicate their decision solely on these books. While the jurors were permitted to consider this evidence, they were expressly prohibited from reaching a verdict of acquittal or guilt based on the 1108 evidence. This directive was communicated to them by the judge before calling Rosibel Ferrufino to the stand.
It's important to acknowledge that the jury had limited exposure to the books and lacked expertise in child abuse cases, highlighting a common challenge when laypeople are tasked with such decisions.
During an interview with juror Melissa Herard, reporter Dan Abrahms inquired about her comfort level regarding a man who shares sleeping arrangements with children possessing these books, in addition to pornography.
ABRAMS: You know, I was struck—and let me stay with you, Melissa - I was struck by something that Ron Zonen said in his closing argument.
He asked the question, are you comfortable with a middle-aged man who possesses this book—that was a book of pictures of naked young boys—getting into bed with a 13-year-old boy?
And he was also talking about in the context of Michael Jackson having stacks of pornography in his bedroom, as well. Are you comfortable with that? He asked that question.
HERARD: Well, what Michael Jackson does in his own home with himself, that‘s his business. I wouldn‘t, you know, be comfortable with him showing my children or any child, but that had to be—you know, that wasn‘t part of, you know, the counts against him. So, yes, that would make me uncomfortable, if that was shown to my children.
Source: nbcnews.com
The answer: they are highly relevant.
It is crucial to recognize that the possession of such material is intricately linked to the context of the possessor. The fact that the police confiscated these books during the 1993 investigation underscores their obligation as professionals to seize any pertinent evidence.
The concerning issue here is not merely the possession of these books, but rather the fact that Jackson, when considering the larger context, frequently spent time with and shared his bed with a succession of children of the same age as those depicted in an erotic manner in these books. Notably, Jackson has faced accusations from children since the 1990s, which is profoundly disquieting.
As articulated in Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis:
Both the child pornography and erotica should be seized as evidence when found in such cases. Child pornographers are sometimes child molesters. The photograph of even fully dressed children could be evidence of an offender’s sexual motivation or involvement with children.
Because child erotica usually is not illegal to possess, the legal basis for its seizure must be carefully considered. If there is doubt about the legality of the seizure, its presence should be noted and, if possible, visually documented/recorded.
MJ's lawyers and defenders unfortunately deny this reality by categorizing the books as “purely artistic of an innocent/illustrative nature”, despite the publishers' intentions not aligning with an artistic sense. The primary purpose of these books, published in the 1960s, was to provide suggestive material in a legal manner.
With permission, the following article was translated and enhanced from The Truth about Michael Jackson.